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Daelkyr
"A fragment from the rites of the Cult of the Dragon Below came back to him. They are perfect in their power. They are without flaw save those flaws they choose. Their triumph is delayed but not denied—they will hold Eberron as they held Xoriat. They are the great lords of the dark and nothing is beyond their will." The daelkyr are extraplanar creatures who appear as preternaturally beautiful humanoids that are native to the realm of Xoriat. They are usually neutral evil. History The daelkyr attempted a planar invasion during the time of the Dhakaani Empire, releasing hordes of their aberrant creations into the material plane. It took an alliance between the goblinoids of the Dhakaani Empire and the Orc druids of The Gatekeepers to repel the forces of the daelkyr, cutting off the plane of Xoriat from Eberron and sealing the remaining daelkyr and their servants within Khyber. , pg. 85. At least six daelkyr remain on Eberron, though they have yet to make a unified attempt to free themselves from Khyber or to restore the connection between Eberron and their home plane. Immortal, the daelkyr are endlessly patient and, as the lords of the realm of madness, their goals and motivations are unfathomable by mortals. Appearance & Personality Daelkyr are said to look like remarkably beautiful and shapely humans, but with a hint of madness in their eyes and chitinous armor covering their bodies that makes them unsettling. They are responsible for most of the aberrations in Eberron, including beholders, dolgaunts, some symbiotic creatures, and many other monsters. The daelkyr are also known by the titles of the Lords of Xoriat, the lords of madness, or the shapers of flesh. Those few daelkyr who remain in Khyber are rumored to create new terrors to this day. , 22. Abilities Daelkyr can assume the form of a small or medium humanoid. This process may not be conscious on the part of the daelkyr, and their appearance may reflect the person viewing them interpreting their form in a sensible manner. Their thought processes are alien, and any creature that attempts to read their mind is temporarily driven mad as per the confusion spell. A daelkyr's presence in a region can change babies in the womb into daelkyr half-bloods, aberrations born to humanoid mothers with some of the madness of the daelkyr and that carry a symbiont from birth. , 21. , pg. 37. Notable Personalities At least six daelkyr remain trapped in the underground realm of Khyber since the Age of Monsters. Unlike the Overlords of the Age of Demons the daelkyr are fully conscious and active, and can wander freely in this realm if they so chose. Each daelkyr has their own followers in various Cults of the Dragon Below, which may act as intermediaries for their unfathomable whims on the surface. * Belashyrra, the Lord of Eyes: Also known as the Lord of Eyes, Belashyrra is said to be one of the most terrifying of the daelkyr, and is credited with creating beholders. Belashyrra resides within the Citadel of Lidless Eyes, through which it is thought to be able to see through the eyes of any living creature. The Umbragen society of drow is currently fighting Belashyrra's army of aberrations in Khyber. * Dyrrn the Corruptor: According to Gatekeeper legend, Dyrrn the Corruptor is the mightiest daelkyr. Dyrrn is responsible for the creation of dolgaunts, dolgrims, and dolgarr from the hobgoblins, goblins, and bugbears. Dyrrn is believed to be trapped in Khyber beneath the Eldeen Reaches. * Kyrzin, the Prince of Slime: Kyrzin is the daelkyr lord of slime, ooze, and disease. Kyrzin is credited with the creation of gibbering mouthers and mimics, and is said to have particular influence over the orcs of the Shadow Marches and their descendants. * Orlassk, the Lord of Stone: Orlassk is credited with creating the medusas (to their severe objection), basilisks, and other creatures that petrify their victims or manipulate stone. Orlassk is skilled at manipulating flesh and stone, and has knowledge of secret transmutation magic. It is said to travel within a moving citadel, a giant gargoyle prowling Khyber. * The Stained One: The Stained One is the title of a daelkyr that is served by illithids, beholders, dolgrims, and other aberrations. They are trapped in the Fortress of the Stained within Khyber. , pg. 23-24. * Avassh, the Twister of Roots is credited for shambling mounds and other forms of strange and twisted plant creatures. * Valaara, the Crawling Queen is the daelkyr lord of worms, spiders, insects and other creepy-crawlies. The following Daelkyr have appeared in Eberron novels. * The Master of Silence: The Master of Silence is the title of a daelkyr trapped in a realm of Khyber connected to the Shadow Marches. It is served by Dah'mir and is followed by members of the Bonetree Clan. The Master of Silence has no mouth and communicates exclusively via telepathy. It appears in The Dragon Below book trilogy by Don Bassingthwaite. * Ysgithyrwyn was a daelkyr lord that during the Daelkyr War was banished back to Xoriat by the Gatekeeper Druids. However, Sinnoch, a dolgaunt agent of Ysgithyrwyn, stumbled across a portal between Xoriat and Eberron. In 998 YK, Sinnoch and his unknowning pawn, artificer Elidyr Brochann, tried to bring Ysgithyrwyn from Xoriat to Eberron in a similar manner. Ysgithyrwyn is credited with the creation of symbionts. Notes Keith Baker has suggested on his website that the daelkyr are perceived as a perfect paragon of the same race as the person viewing them (i.e., they may look human to humans, but would look like a bugbear to goblinoids). He further explains that their true form may not be interpretable by a rational mind and the humanoid form is the nearest approximation. Keith Baker further expanded on this topic on the Eberron Discord that, while the daelkyr are perceived in different ways depending on the individual viewing them, that this is distinct from shapechangers because the daelkyr do not consciously change their form. In The Grieving Tree by Don Bassingthwaite some Cults of the Dragon Below believe daelkyr appear without flaws save the ones they allow. References Category:Daelkyr Category:Creatures found in Xoriat Category:Creatures found in Khyber Category:Creatures with the Evil subtype Category:Creatures with the Extraplanar subtype Category:Medium Creatures Category:Outsiders